Saturday, September 9, 2023

Sitting Is The New Smoking

 You have probably heard that spending too much time sitting is bad for us, but is this the new smoking? The quick answer is, sort of. Given how inactive most of us are, sitting is developing a bad habit and bad body posture too. Simply put, we do not move our bodies as much as we could be doing throughout the day. Let us look at how sitting hurts overall health.


The Negative Health Effects of Sitting

Over time, we have transitioned from hunters and gatherers to sitting at a desk and staring at a screen for extended periods. Our bodies are designed to be upright and active, so this change has badly affected our health. 


Long periods of sitting or living a sedentary lifestyle have negative health effects, including:


  • Obesity and weight gain

  • Posture and back problems

  • elevated blood pressure and blood sugar levels

  • unhealthy levels of cholesterol

  • greater chance of developing cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease

  • decreased mental ability

  • Depressive and anxious mood disorders

  • decreased life expectancy

  • The risk of varicose veins and deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is elevated.

  • Fatigue and decreased energy


The negative effects of a sedentary lifestyle are constantly being shown in new studies, so this list is not all-inclusive. It could be argued that sitting is the new smoking, given its myriad harmful effects on your health.


The solution is to get up and move around more

Simple fixes include getting up and moving more often. Even though it might seem easy to heed this advice, it can be challenging for those of us with jobs requiring us to sit down most of the day. The good news is that despite having desk jobs, we can all try to move more during the day.


Get up during breaks, walk around, and stretch.

Attempt to get up and about at least once per hour. You must do this every hour by getting up, moving, and stretching. When necessary, set an alarm. It is not necessary to take long breaks; even a single minute out of every hour matters. 


Standing Desk

If feasible, think about switching to a standing desk, though we know that not everyone can. It will allow you to move around a lot while working. You can work at a desk with an adjustable height while standing, sitting, or even moving around. 


Boost your step total

Get an affordable and good pedometer and try to walk 10,000 steps every day. Make 10,000 steps your long-term objective and, if necessary, reduce it to a more manageable number. Setting a goal will greatly improve your chances of sticking with it. 


Consume more water

Drinking water will improve your health and increase your level of activity. As your level of hydration rises, you will use the restroom more frequently. As you drink more water, along with flushing the impurities out of the body, you will be moving around to fill your bottle regularly.


Bring a meeting agenda with you.

If you can, bring your meeting with you. Take a walk while making calls or going to meetings for work. It will also make you feel active and you can think in a better way. 


Movement Matters

While regular exercise is important, it could be argued that daily movement is even more crucial. Start forming better habits right away. Tomorrow, your health will thank you.

If you face neck pain, it might be a bad sitting body posture. Correcting the body posture on time; you should connect with the Gold Medal Physiotherapy


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